Support and rest device for a flush toilet



y 21, 1963 J. B. OAKLAND 3,090,051

SUPPORT AND REST DEVICE FOR A FLUSH TOILET Filed May 2. 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fzgl.

16 5O 3O 42 f H 2o 22 ee- INVENTOR JOHN B. OAKLAND ATTORNEY y 1963 J. B. OAKLAND 3,090,051

SUPPORT AND REST DEVICE FOR A FLUSH TOILET Filed May 2. 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 J'HN BOAKLAND BY MMJM ATTORNEY y 21, 1963 J. B. OAKLAND 3,090,051

SUPPORT AND REST DEVICE FOR A- FLUSH-TOILET Filed May 2, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lllll" w INVENTOR 62 JOHN B. OAKLAND BY MM ATTORNEY United States Patent ()fifice 3,6951%51 Patented May 21, 1963 3,090,051 SUPPGRT AND REST DEVIQE FOR A LUSH TOHLET John B. @akland, 1604 Donwood Place, Biloxi, Miss. Filed May 2, 1961, Ser. No. 107,097 2 Claims. (Cl. 4-254) This invention relates to an improved support and rest device for a flush toilet whereby the user of the toilet may have body support, thus rendering the device especially desirable for invalids or persons that desire an arm and body rest and article support means.

It is a particular object of the present invention to provide such a device that is sturdy in construction, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, convenient and simple to use.

A further object is to provide such a device that while rigidly mounted for sturdy support is readily foldable when not in use for convenient storage to a position which permits normal unrestricted use of the toilet.

Another object of the invention is to provide. a device which is readily adaptable for use with substantially any conventional flush toilet having a bowl and seat means therefor.

Another object is to provide such a device which may be floor, wall or toilet bowl supported.

A further object is to provide such a device having a removable article or head support structure which materially improves the utility and convenience of the device.

These and other objects and advantages are provided by a foldable support and rest device for a flush toilet of the type having a bowl and seat means comprising a pair of lateral articulated frame assemblies, each comprising a front floor engaging leg member, a rear support member, and a bridge member pivotally connected at opposite ends to said front leg member and said rear support member, the pivotal connect-ion of the leg member with the bridge member being disposed to cause the leg member to overlap the connected portions of the bridge member and the rear support member when said rest device is in the folded position.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in reference to the illustrative embodiments thereof wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the foldable support and rest device in the unfolded position with the transverse article support member in position;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the structures shown in FIG. 1 in the folded position and with the transverse article support member removed therefrom;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section substantially on line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged [fragmentary sectional View of the pivotm connection between the rear support and the bridge member;

FIG. 7 is a view of the structures shown in FiG. 6 rotated 90;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary section substantially on line 88 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged section substantially on line 9 9 of FIG. 8 illustrating the form of the pivotal connection between the leg member and the bridge member;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary side elevational View of a modified form of the present invention showing toilet engaging support means for the rear support member;

FIG. 11 is a front elevational view of the structuresshown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary side elevational view of another form of the present invention which has equal utility with floor supported or wall supported flush toilet structures;

FIG. 13 is a section substantially on line 1313 of FIG. 12; and

FIG. 14 is a top perspective view of a modified form of transverse article support structure for use in conjunction with the devices shown in FIGS. 1 through 13.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. :1 through 9, 10 generally designates a conventional flush tank type toilet including a bowl portion. 12 adapted to be suitably secured to a floor by fastening means 13 and 13. The bowl 12 has pivotally mounted about the rim thereof a seat portion 14- and a cover 16 therefor.

The seat 14 and the cover 16 are pivotally mounted to the bowl 12 through suitable bracket means having cooperating bolt and nut attaching elements generally designated 22. The bowl 12 in the illustrated form of the invention supports a conventional flush tank structure 18 which flush tank is secured to the bowl through suitable nut and bolt attaching means generally designated 20.

The improved foldable support and rest device for use with the flush toilet assembly 10 is generally designated 3%) and, in general, comprises a pair of lateral articulate frame assemblies designated 32 and 32 for the rightand left-hand sides of the flush bowl, respectively.

The articulate frame assembly 32 includes a front floor engaging leg member 34, a rear support member 36 and a bridge member 38 pivotally connected to the leg member 34 and to the rear support member 36.

The other articulate frame assembly .32 is identical in construction with frame assembly 32 and similar elements thereof are provided with primed reference characters.

The pair of lateral articulate frame assemblies may be constructed of any suitable rigid material and in the illustrated form of the invention, the members are constructed from tubular metal which may .be chrome plated to blend with the other fixtures in a bathroom or provided with a coating of a resilient material such as rubber, or plastic which may be readily cleaned and would provide a non-slip cushioning surface for the tubular stock material.

The front leg members 34 and 34' are illustrated as including conventional non-skid floor engaging caps 40 and 40' respectively and the bridge members 38 and 38' are preferably provided with suitable arm rests and hand gripping elements 42 and 42' respectively. The arm rests 42 and 42 are secured to the upper surface of the ,bridge members 38 and 33 :by suitable fastening means indicated at 44 in, [for example, FIG. 5 of the drawings. The arm rests 42 and 42 may be provided with suitable cushioning means as is known in the art or they may be contoured from a solid plastic or metal material.

Each of the rear support members 36 and 36 in the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 9 is provided with a floor engaging anchoring structure 46 and 46' respectively. The illustrated floor engaging anchoring means comprises a pipe flange which pipe flange is securely fastened to the floor 0f the bathroom by anchoring means passing through the plural openings 48 provided in each of the flange members 46 and 46.

The pair of lateral articulate frame assemblies 32 and 32 may further be employed as support means for a transverse member generally designated 50. The transverse member 50 in the illustrated form of the invention comprises a fiat quadrangular table or board. The undersurface 52 of the table or board 50 is provided with a pair of downwardly and backwardly directed lug members 54 illustrated, for example, in FIG. 8. The downwardly and backwardly directed lugs 54 are adapted to be slidably received in cooperating bores 56 in the top portion of the bridge members of the pair of frame assemblies. The shape of the downwardly and rearwardly directed lug members 54 and the cooperating bores 56 are such that the table top or board 50 may be readily placed on or removed from the operating position illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 8 and 9. Simplicity of removal and replacement of the board 51: is essential as the board is removed when the support and rest device is placed in the folded position illustrated in FIG. 4 and, further, the board is removed for ingress and egress to the seat portion 14 of the flush toilet.

While FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 8 and 9 illustrate a plane surface top for the pair of lateral articulate frame assemblies, other forms of transverse member may be employed with the structure. A further form is illustrated in FIG. 14 where the top portion 56 is illustrated as being provided with a center section 6t) adapted to receive liquids or articles which may be desired by the occupant of the toilet.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 14, the transverse top portion 59 is provided with a padded rolled lower edge 62 to provide greater comfort for the user of the device. The top portion 50' illustrated in FIG. 14 of the drawings is also provided with means for readily attaching and detaching the structure to the pair of lateral articulated frame assemblies.

As hereinbefore discussed, the bridge members 38 and 38 are pivotally connected to their respective front leg members 34 and 34' and rear support members 36 and 36'. Referring to frame assembly 32, the pivotal connection between end st of the bridge member and upper end 6d of the rear support member comprises a pivotal joint 68. The pivotal joint 68 is more clearly ilustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 and comprises an upper pin member 70 adapted to be anchored in the bore of the lower end of the tubular bridge portion. The projecting portion of the pin 70 is provided with a tongue 72 which tongue portion is received between the bifurcated end 74 of a cooperating hinge element maintained in the upper portion of the rear support 36 by means of a pin structure '76 received in the bore of the upper end 66 of the rearward support member 36. A pivot pin 78 passing through the bifurcations 74 and tongue 72 completes the structures employed in pivotally connecting end 64 of the bridge member 38 to the upper end 66 of the rearward support member 34.

This form of pivotal connection has been found to be very satisfactory as the joint is restricted from pivoting except in a plane normal to the axis of the pivot pin 78 and, further, forward pivoting of the connection is restricted by contact of edge 8% with the lower surface 32. of the bifurcated portion of the connector. Further, when the device is in the folded position as illustrated in PEG. 4, rearward movement may also be restricted by contact of rear face 84 with the lower surface of the bifurcated portion of the connector.

The pivotal connection 91 between the other end of each of the bridge members and their respective leg portions is, as hereinbefore described, disposed to cause the leg members 34 and 34 to overlap the connected portions of their bridge members and the respective rear support members when the rest device is in the folded position as illustrated particularly in FIG. 4..

Referring to H65. 8 and 9, the pivotal connection 90, while similar to the connector ilustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, is so disposed that the pivot pin 7 8' and the connector portion 72 cooperating with the bifurcated portion '74 are disposed at an angle to the horizontal. Thus, while the self-locking features are preserved, when the front leg members 34 and 34' are pivoted rearwardly and the bridge members 38 and 33' are pivoted rearwardly about pivotal connections 68 and 68', the front legs are caused to overlap the connected portions of the bridge members and the rear support members, thus folding the improved support and rest device at a convenient position to provide unobstructed access to the toilet without interfering with the positioning of the seat 14, the back 16, or the tank portion 1% of the flush toilet.

Vhile the invention has been illustrated with a particular type of pivotal connection between the front leg members and the bridge members of the pair of lateral frame assemblies, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other suitable pivotal connecting means may be employed with the assembly without loss of the advantages inherent in the connectors illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11 of the application drawings, a modified form of the present invention is illustrated wherein the rear support members for the pair of lateral articulated frame assemblies comprise generally U-shape bracket elements and 199. One leg and 116' of each of the U-shape support members 100 and 10% is secured to the base of the flush bowl by means of the flush bowl anchoring connectors 13 while each of the rear leg portions 112 and 112' (not shown in the drawings) are secured to the base of the flush bowl by the anchoring means 13 for the flush bowl. With this form of rear support, it is unnecessary to provide separate anchoring means for the support and rest assembly and the toilet. Therefore, this form of the assembly has particular untility where the floor of the bathroom is tile or the like making it diflicult to provide suitable anchoring means for the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 9.

The bridge portions 114 and 114' of the U-shape support members 100 and 100 receive plate members 116 and 116 which plate members have secured thereto the lower connector half of the pivotal connecting means 68 and 68 at the lower ends of the bridge members of the assembly.

Other than the form of the lower support members for the pair of lateral articulate frame assemblies, the foldable support and rest device illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11 is identical to the form illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 9.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, a further form of the present invention is illustrated which also eliminates the need for attaching the rear support members to the floor and has particular utility as this form of the support means may be employed with floor supported flush toilets or wall support cantilevered type flush toilets. Referring to FIGS. l2 and 13, the lower ends of the bridge members 38 and 38' are provided with pivotal connectors 68 and 68' of the type illustrated in detail in FIGS. 7 and 8. The lower portion of the pivotal connectors 68 and 68' are received on plate members 116 and 116 as in the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 1-1. The plate members 116 and 116' are secured to the rear support members 2% and 2%.

The support members 2% and 200" are shaped to provide generally upwardly and rearwardly sloping portions 202 and 2632 respectively. The upwardly sloping rearwardly directed portions join with generally horizontally disposed portions 204 and 204. The horizontally extending portions 2% and 264 are adapted to underlie the rim or top 296 of the flush bowl and be secured thereto by means of the bolt and nut connectors 20 and 22 which, as previously described, secure the flush tank 18 and the seat and back members 14 and 16 to the flush bowl. With this form of the invention, there are no low support members for the foldable support and rest device rendering it very simple to maintain sanitary conditions about the lower portion of the bowl.

Where the fiush bowl is of the cantilever type, this form of bracket may be readily employed without substantial modification or a similar bracket may be employed to support the lower ends of the bridge members 38 and 38' from suitably shaped bracket members engaging a wall immediately rearward and adjacent to the flush bowl.

From the foregoing description of various forms of the improved foldable support and rest device for flush toilets, it will be readily seen by those skilled in the art that this device fully accomplishes the aims and objects hereinbefore set forth.

-It will also be appreciated that various modifications may be made in the form of the device without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A foldable support and rest device for a flush toilet of the type having a bowl and seat means therefor comprising a pair of lateral articulated frame assemblies each comprising a front floor engaging leg member, a rear floor engaging support member, and a bridge member pivotally connected at opposite ends to said front leg member and said rear floor engaging support member, each of said rear floor engaging support members provided with means adapted to receive fasteners for anchoring said rear support members to the floor on opposite sides of the flush toilet bowl, the pivotal connection of the leg members with the bridge members being disposed to cause the leg members to overlap the respective connected portions of the bridge members and the rear floor engaging support members when said rest device is in the folded position.

2. A foldable support and rest device for a flush toilet of the type having a bowl and seat means therefor comprising a pair of lateral articulate frame assemblies each comprising a front floor engaging leg member, a rear support member, and a bridge member pivotally connected at opposite ends to said front leg member and said rear support member, said rear support member being secured to the bowl portion of a flush toilet by fasteners securing the bowl to the floor, and the pivotal connection of each of the leg members with the bridge members being disposed to cause each of the leg members to overlap the connected portions of the bridge members and the bowl supported rear members when the rest device is in the folded position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,607,926 De Puy Aug. 26, 1952 2,629,882 Blumenshine Mar. 3, 1953 2,774,975 Prank Dec. 25, 1956 

1. A FOLDABLE SUPPORT AND REST DEVICE FOR A FLUSH TOILET OF THE TYPE HAVING A BOWL AND SEAT MEANS THEREFOR COMPRISING A PAIR OF LATERAL ARTICULATE FRAME ASSEMBLIES EACH COMPRISING A FRONT FLOOR ENGAGING LEG MEMBER, A REAR FLOOR ENGAGING SUPPORT MEMBER, AND A BRIDGE MEMBER PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO OPPOSITE ENDS TO SAID FRONT LEG MEMBER AND SAID REAR FLOOR ENGAGING SUPPORT MEMBER, EACH OF SAID REAR FLOOR ENGAGING SUPPORT MEMBERS PROVIDED WITH MEANS ADAPTED TO RECEIVE FASTENERS FOR ANCHORING SAID REAR SUPPORT MEMBERS TO THE FLOOR ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE FLUSH TOILET BOWL, THE PIVOTAL CONNECTION OF THE LEG MEMBERS WITH THE BRIDGE MEMBERS BEING DISPOSED TO CAUSE THE LEG MEMBERS TO OVERLAP THE RESPECTIVE CONNECTED PORTIONS OF THE BRIDGE MEMBERS AND THE REAR FLOOR ENGAGING SUPPORT MEMBERS WHEN SAID DEVICE IS IN THE FOLDED POSITION. 